xlmslnxy3e2b

I'm conflicted about this book. Parts of it were incredibly poignant. The little boy Oskar's search for answers about his father and his father's death all seemed very real. The author did a great job making the readers feel the father-son relationship. I felt Oskar's grief, his guilt, and his emptiness. This was the part of the story I loved. I will say, however, that this 9-year old seemed awfully adult in many ways. . . I can't imagine my 9 year old doing or thinking the things this little boy did. I kept thinking . . . his mom just lets him run around New York by himself?!!!! I wish the author hadn't tried to do so many other things with the book. The other half of the story, revolving around Oskar's grandparents' histories, starting back in wartime Germany, was mainly confusing to me. In fact, I still need to look up the disease/affliction which is so much a part of the book (though I'm not sure why it was). Much of the devices used by the author remind me of the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. There, they felt more authentic to me. Here, they felt contrived, and if the author was just trying to do something which would be called "original." I was actually kind of happy when I had 5 pages of numbers, four blank pages, a couple pages of doorknobs or several pages consisting of one sentence total, because I could pretty much skip through them (that happiness is not a good thing) So, I would say that the book is worth the read. Maybe others will grasp more meaning from the parts I found confusing. The author did succeed in effectively illustrating the strength and endurance of love and loss. That made it all worthwhile to me.

2022-10-01 15:39